This is my life
by winterdevils
Summary: Mai's life from her 12th year of age, I assure you that the story is better than the review, I suck at summarys so yeah. Please R R. Rated T for violence.
1. Chapter 1

Mai's Life. It was perfect. Well all except for one person. Azula. In Mai's opinion Azula was a spoiled,self-centred and power hungry little princess. But even Azula wasn't the worst thing in the young girls life. There was still her parents. Her father wasn't to bad but her mother. She was the worst. Always so stuck up and so obsessed with status and appearance. So naturally when Azula chose Mai to be her 'friend' her mother was over joyed and felt that she must take advantage of the friendship.

Mai was sat in her bedroom on her bed drawing her favourite prince Zuko when there was a loud knock at the door. Mai knew immediately who it was. She knew it was her uncle Lee*. The warden of The Boiling Rock prison. The highest security prison in the entire world. He was on his annual holiday he took a few a year and each time he came all the way back to the home land to see Mai and only Mai."come in"she screamed whilst not looking away from the picture that she had now swapped for a heart with flowers round it. Lee walked into the room and went over to Mai,who had put the picture down to sharpen her pencil,and put one hand under her legs and one behind her back and picked her up off the bed and swung her around. This caused a series of laughs and squeals from Mai and one loud booming laugh from Lee. He put Mai back on the bed gently and sat down on the chair next to it."So Mai I have heard that you left school on Friday how are you enjoying not having to get up so early" Lee asked. "Oh I still get up early but I've been spending more time at the palace." Mai replied.

There was an awkward silence before Lee asked Mai "why have you been spending more time at the palace Azula and Tylee are still at school". "yeah I know that but Azula has given me permission to spend more time with her brother" She said. "oh and do You like prince Zuko and By like I mean _like like"_ he asked. The ebony haired girl ducked her head in an attempt to hide her blush that was spread lightly across her cheeks."Oh so you do fancy him does Azula know actually does your mother know about it and even more importantly does he fancy you" Lee asked."erm...erm.. yes he likes me and yes Azula knows about it but no my mother does not know and could you not tell her." she stated "don't you worry I won't tell anybody"He said "thanks uncle oh I hear my mother calling me wonder what for this time I'll be back up in a minute feel free to look around" "O.K then dear."

Mai ran out of the room and down the stirs to see what her mother wanted only to find that Prince Zuko was waiting in the hall with her mother who was showing him all of Mai's baby photos. Clearing her throat quietly Mai bowed to Zuko and said hello to her mother and asked what she wanted. "Mai Prince Zuko has come round to see you and you can show him to your room if he wishes." answered Kira Mai's mother. "come on the I'll show you to my room" "oh but my uncle is in there as well". Mai told him. "that's O.K but I have to ask you something when we get upstairs" said Zuko. Mai ran up the rest of the stairs and opened her bedroom door to let Zuko in but he let her go in first then walked in himself and closed the door behind him.

"Mai,Prince Zuko hello again" said Lee "hello uncle" Mai replied "Mai can I ask you something now please" said Zuko "of course" said Mai "erm Mai will you you know"he whispered rather nervously as Mai's uncle was watching his every move. "will I what...Oh that yeah of course I will I've been waiting for you to ask me that" Mai whispered back over joyed. Zuko pulled Mai into a warm embrace and Mai pulled away reluctantly as her uncle was watching " uncle would you mind if I went for a walk" Mai asked " no not at all I have to go and see your mother anyway" Lee answered.

*I wanted to give Mai's uncle a name he really needed one

Thank you to azulastar for reading through before and after I published .


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"So…. What time does Azula get home then." Asked Zuko "Did he seriously just ask me what time his sister gets home from the academy " is what Mai was thinking but instead she just told him in about an hour.

"Mai, Mai, Mai were are you" "coming mother I'll be back in a few minutes just take a look around I'm so sorry about this." Mai shouted to Zuko over her shoulder. Now indoors Mai searched for her mother. Mai found her mother in the sitting room with her father. " You requested my presence Mother" Mai said once she had caught her breath having ran from the gardens "yes well we have some very important news to tell you dear" Her mother replied slowly searching for any kind of emotion in the young knife throwers eyes but still finding none behind her mask of sullen depression. "Oh for Agni sake Kagami* will you stop treating her like a child she shall be turning 13 in less than 3 days and she is also incredibly smart for her age I am sure she will understand the situation perfectly fine without you emphasizing every word you say." Her father Haruko** said whilst trying to contain his anger. "Well anyway your father thought it fit to tell you ahead of time that you shall be having a baby brother of sister hopefully a brother but a baby none the less." Kagami continued.

Haruko meanwhile was trying to find any sort of emotion whether it be anger or whether it be sadness he did not care he just wanted some kind of emotion he hated it when his only daughter hid behind her mask and never let people see what she really thought. "Um Mai now would be a really great time to tell us what you feel are you happy about having a sibling are you disappointed that you will get less attention come on Mai at least give us something" Pleaded Haruko. "Its great It should bring some entertainment to this house we don't currently have any." Mai replied still unfazed by the news and still wearing her ever-constant mask though she was secretly overjoyed all that attention would finally be off her

Meanwhile Prince Zuko had been bored of waiting outside and decided to go and wait in the bedroom. When she finally came back in, he was sitting on her bed looking at her jewellery though he was actually planning what to get her for her birthday in 2 days time. Mai figured that since he hadn't heard her come in he could be startled rather easily so closing the door as quietly as she could she went over to her bed using her light step to her advantage and came up behind him. She tenderly wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered hello to him. He turned slowly in her arms and wrapped his arms around her waist "I'll be back in a moment" He said and pulled away to go to the bathroom.

About 5 minutes later, he was back and Mai was up walking around the room. Zuko walked over to Mai and gingerly picked her up and placed a gentle yet tender kiss her soft pale cheek. Haruko was standing at the door at that moment and saw everything what happened. Zuko turned around and almost dropped Mai because of the shock that took hold at that very moment. Mai practically jumped out of her boyfriends' arms. "Mai are you involved with this boy." Asked Haruko Mai replied with "yes I am but seriously don't tell my Mother you know what she would say." "Your right she would end up saying your to young but I said it myself your not a child any more and you can most definitely protect yourself with knifes you carry around with you your Mother hasn't been told about those either by the way" "ok then thanks dad " Mai continued after hugging her father. Zuko came over and put his arm around Mai. "Haruko may I please take Mai with me over to the palace for a few hours if I promise to have her back by sunset this evening." Zuko requested. Haruko ended up saying that she could so they walked the short distance across the square to the palace and went to the gardens to his favourite place, by the turtle duck pond.

Sorry I could not update for a while I have been rather busy glad I finally got this chapter finished though Thanks to those who reviewed please continue to read and review thanks again

Winterdevils xx

* Kagami means Mirror in Japanese

** Haruko means First born in Japanese


	3. Chapter 3

This next chapter took longer than I expected it to as I was distracted for a while so I couldn't write for a few days.

Chapter 3

It was about a week later and the terrible meeting which Prince Zuko attended had passed and he was now preparing for the agni kai due to take place in one hour.

Meanwhile, in the courtyard of the palace Princesses Azula and her two friends were walking over to where the cherry trees were in bloom. "So Mai, I trust that you've heard all about that meeting that your _darling_ Zu-Zu attended and messed up so much." Azula said in her sickly sweet voice.

"Honestly Azula I can safely say that I have not heard anything about that meeting as I haven't spoken to your brother at all for the past three days." Mai replied in her usual monotone.

"May I ask, how did the meeting go? Surely it wasn't that bad was it?" Mai enquired, eager to know how the meeting went.

"Well, all I will tell you is that there is an agni kai in one hour due to that meeting, if you want to know any more you will have to ask the fool himself." was Azula's brief answer.

"You can go find him if you want, he's in his room, preparing so he might not want your company at the moment but oh well I have no use for you so you may go to him." That was all Mai heard before she ran gracefully across the courtyard and down the corridor which led to Zuko's room.

The knock was almost inaudible but Zuko heard it and called for Mai to enter.

"Hi, I heard about the meeting." Mai said nervously. Even though they had known each other for years she still got nervous when speaking to him.

"Off Azula no doubt, sorry I'm just nervous though it's only an old man so I'm sure to win. The Prince stated proudly.

"That's good...Well I'd better be going Mother wants me home soon and I don't want to be late again." Mai said, gaining a little more confidence. Zuko took a step closer to Mai and gently took hold of her hands.

"So your not coming to the agni kai then?" Zuko asked.

"No, Mother says that it isn't the a woman's place to go to them." Mai stated looking down at their hands and then at the floor in an attempt to hide her reddening cheeks.

"All right then Mai, I'll see you after." Zuko replied. After placing a passionate yet small kiss on Zuko's lips Mai exited the room and walked through the grounds of the palace onto the street. She crossed the street which was filled with people buying and selling goods and entered her home.

Mai was about to go into the kitchen when she heard her mother and father talking so she decided to stop outside the door and listen.

"He was and absolute disgrace to both the council and to our glorious nation." said Haruko

" Yes dear I understand that but we cannot tear Mai away from him like that she is finally happy, well happy-ish." Was Kagami's reply.

"Mother cares, she actually cares, or is it just an act." Mai thought to herself, astonished.

"No Kagami you do not understand, this boy will have a bad influence on our daughter" Haruko was shouting now and Mai didn't have to listen so closely to hear what was said.

"Haruko you must see sense, if Mai actually marries this boy in the future then it would automatically boost our status" Kagami screamed back.

"I knew it was to good to be true, she doesn't care about my happiness all she cares about is their position and their status." Mai thought as she walked back down the hall to her room.

Mai thought about the things her parents had said in the kitchen and realised that if the agni kai ends badly Zuko could be burned or even killed but if he refuses to fight he could be banished and she might not see him again.

"Mai, come down here this instant, I have to talk to you about something."Haruko shouted up to his daughter.

"Ah, Mai, there you are, I wanted to tell you who Prince Zuko will be fighting today in the agni kai, he won't be fighting the old general that he disrespected though I am sure that is what you have been told, he will actually be fighting the Fire Lord himself, who will be much less forgiving than the general. You may never see him again Mai." Haruko told her with slight sorrow in his voice as his only daughter would no doubt end up very much heartbroken. Tears welled in her eyes and threatened to fall but Mai refused to let them. The tears in her eyes made her beautiful pale gold eyes glisten in the light making it obvious that they were there.

" Yes father I understand the situation and if I never get to see him again then... well... I'll think of that later." Mai said with a more obvious hint of sorrow to her voice.

" You may leave now Mai, I have work to do." Haruko said with a wave of his hand while looking back down at the document he was reading.

Mai left the room immediately and ran up the stairs to her bedroom. She entered the room making sure to lock the door behind her and threw herself onto the bed and wept. She cried for hours on end and ignored when her mother called her for as long as she could before she came to the door of her bedroom.

" Mai, you open this door this instant do you hear me, Mai, Mai get out here now!" Kagami screamed at her daughter.

"Make me!" the raven haired girl screamed back clearly annoyed

"Mai, I swear if you don't open this door right now then I'll...I'll" Kagami shouted stumbling over her words trying to figure out the appropriate words to say in the situation she found herself in.

"you'll what Mother, break the door down" Mai replied shouting.

"Yes that's exactly what I will do I'll break you door down" Kagami shouted enraged.

" yeah... sure you will." Mai said rather amused.

Mai cried herself to sleep that night and woke up the next morning with streaks down her face. She washed her face in the bathroom and got dressed in her usual cloths and went down for breakfast.

"Good morning Mai, did you sleep well." asked Haruko politely he wasn't angry at the incident the night before as his wife was."Good morning Father, good morning Mother and yes I slept rather well thank you, did you?" the ebony haired knife thrower replied looking every bit the perfect noble lady.

" Yes thank you dear I did indeed sleep well." replied Haruko.

"Mai darling your presence is requested at the palace today by Princess Azula you may go as soon as you are ready." Haruko continued.

Mai finished her breakfast then walked the short distance to the palace to see Azula.

"Mai, Zuko wants to speak to you, he is in his room." Azula said with a wave of dismissal. Mai bolted down the corridors to her boyfriends room to see what he wanted her for.

" Ah there you are, I need to tell you something, I have been ordered to leave the country and not return to it's water's without the avatar." Zuko said sorrow and a hint of anger evident in his voice.

A/N

Thank you to my reviewers for the support and the guidance that you put in your reviews.

Thank you especially to azulastar for reading through before I published and for pointing out my mistakes.

Ohhh cliff hanger, there will be an unexpected twist in the next chapter which I look forward to writing. Thanks for reading winterdevils. x


	4. chapter 4

I got a little bit bored while sat at home so I have filled my time with writing so that I could upload quicker.

Chapter 4

" So let me get this straight you have to leave the Fire Nation? " Mai asked, a bit confused but also scared.

" Yes Mai I have to leave... but I'm not worried about what will happen to me, I'm worried about you." Zuko confessed though you could tell by the glisten in his amber eyes that he was worried about Mai.

" Why?...Why are you worried about me?" Mai asked softly in great confusion.

" You use to be so... so withdrawn but now you've started letting go a little more and you seem so much freer now. I'm worried that me leaving will make you go back to how you were." Zuko said in despair.

" Well... Well... Well then let me come with you!" Mai screamed sounding desperate. Zuko was speechless at her last remark.

" When do you leave?" Mai continued a bit calmer now though still upset.

" I have four hours to collect my belongings then I have to leave the palace and be out of the Fire Nation within an hour after that." Zuko replied.

" I'd better be getting home for dinner Mother would have a fit if I were to be late." Mai said while looking down at the floor

" All right then Mai, I'll see you some other time." Zuko said while pulling her into a warm embrace.

Mai walked back to her home trying to keep her emotions in check although they were out of control. She walked through into the kitchen where she was greeted by the cook who sat her down and gave her some spicy noodles for her dinner. While she ate she started thinking about what she would do._ I should go with him... Oh don't be stupid Mai you can't go... Yes, yes I can go and I will... But I only have four hours left to gather my belongings, I will have to work fast to get to the docks in time. _ So once Mai had finished her lunch she went to her room to gather her belongings.

Mai made sure that the door was locked so that she was not disturbed while she was packing, She rum aged through her wardrobe to find her bags. She put three pairs of trousers in red, black and burgundy into her large bag along with three long sleeved tunics, a pair of leggings, a black skirt and a burgundy dress along with clean bindings.

In a smaller bag she packed soap for her hair, a wash cloth, and two towels, a comb and soap for her body. She would pack her hairbrush and toothbrush later.

In the smallest bag she put things that were personal to her like her favourite book, a box which contained a small red book which was padlocked closed, three small pairs of earrings and a necklace, a small amount of make up, two nail varnish's and a nail file.

Mai decided that she would take a quick bath as the next one could be a long time away. She let the heat of the water soak into her skin for almost 30 minutes before getting out and re-dressing. She brushed out her hair and cleaned her teeth before placing the hair brush, tooth brush and toothpaste into her bag.

Mai decided that even though her parents didn't care for her she should leave a quick note telling them not to worry, so she sat at her desk and took out her writing equipment. She dipped the brush into the deep black ink and wrote :

_Dear Mother and Father,_

_I have wrote you this note to inform you that I have accompanied Prince Zuko in his banishment. You have no need to worry as I am sure that we will be fine. I will write to you whenever possible so that you know I am all right._

_Tell people what you like about my disappearance though it would be much simpler to just tell them that I have gone to live with my uncle in the boiling rock, it would save questions and would save the shame that would fall on the family. _

_All my love,_

_Mai._

Mai left her house unnoticed and made her way to the dock. It felt as though she had been walking for hours when she finally reached the docks but it was actually only about twenty minutes before she reached her destination. She searched around for the ship that was to take take them across the sea's. It didn't take long to find due to the fact that it was the smallest ship in the docks at that time, it looked a little drab compared to the other much larger ship's which were designed for war or to carry goods to and from the colonies to the capital city.

Still Mai wanted to be certain that it was the right ship so she waited for Zuko to turn up. Mai didn't have to wait long as he arrived about ten minutes later. She approached him as he boarded the ship and he tried to stop her from coming with him into exile but she was not having any of it.

" Mai, you don't have to come, you don't need to come, your not the one who was banished, I was, this is my disgrace and I don't want to drag you into it with me." Zuko said as they boarded the ship that was to be called home for the time being.

" I don't care, I want to be with you and nothing you say or do will stop me from coming." Mai countered.

" Nephew, it looks like there really is no talking her out of it. Mai wants to come and we have to respect her decision" Iroh said to Zuko while flashing a wide grin at the ebony haired girl stood next to him.

Once on the ship they all went below deck to sort out their rooms.

" Well then Mai, we had better find you a room and tell cook that there will be one extra person to feed." The retired general said with a wide grin.

" Nephew, you go and sort out your room I can take care of Mai for now. He continued.

" Fine, I'll see you at dinner Mai." Zuko said as they turned to leave.

" So. Mai, why did you choose to come with us on this trip anyway when you could of kept all the luxury's that come with nobility and stayed at home? I'm sure your parents will be worried when they find out that you have left." Iroh said with slight surprise in his voice.

" I assure you general Iroh, my parents will not be at all worried, my father maybe for a little while but once my sibling is born he won't care any more. My Uncle is the person that will worry about me. My Mother, well she won't be worried, she'll be angry if anything." Mai replied her voice staying calm and even.

" Come on now, your mother will be worried... Then again she didn't really care for you did she. Any way lets get off the subject now and go find cook. Oh and Mai dear, just call me Iroh I'm not a general any more dear." Iroh reasoned his voice becoming brighter when he changed the subject.

They strolled down the halls at a leisurely pace, talking about many things until they found the ship's cook. Iroh told her that there would be one extra on board then went to find Mai a suitable bedroom.

They found her one that was had a bathroom joined to it which turned out to Iroh's room originally but Iroh insisted that Mai take the room and use it for herself.

_**Fire Nation Palace**_

Meanwhile, back at the palace Azula and Ozai were having their evening meal.

" So, my dear, how do you feel about having your imbecile of a brother out of the way for good." Ozai said in a triumphant tone of voice.

" Oh Father it is wonderful, he was never ant use to either of us and he was soft, just like mother and now that he is gone you and I can lead the Fire Nation to greatness." Azula replied in her sickly sweet voice.

" Hmmm. Yes daughter, I agree, with the little boy gone you can prosper and will one day make a wonderful fire lord yourself. Anyway I have heard that your fire became blue for a moment today. I am most proud of you daughter, you truly are a firebending prodigy, just like your grandfather said you would be." Ozai said pride evident in his voice.

" Thank you Father, I hope you will find that I will prove most useful on the battle field in the future and should Zuko rebel against us I would take the greatest of pleasure in permanently ending him once and for all!" Azula stated with a sudden ferocity to her voice.

_**Mai's house.**_

Haruko and Kagami had been continually calling Mai to come down for her meal. So after ten minute's Haruko decided that he would go up and tell her himself that she was to come down for dinner.

He was less than prepared for what he found. He found the room empty with a note on the bed. He sat down on the edge of his daughters bed and read the note silently to himself.

" Kagami, you had better come and take a look at this." Haruko shouted to his wife.

" what is it, where's Mai." Kagami said as she entered the room.

" You had better read this." Haruko said quietly while handing her the note. Kagami read the note to herself and tried to take in what Mai had written.

"Oh dear, that's not good, I knew she was unhappy here but I didn't think that it was this bad." Kagami said sitting on the chair next to Mai's bed.

" I need to write a note, to Ty Lee. She was her best friend and I think she has a right to know that Mai is gone and may never return." Haruko said while taking out a piece of parchment and sitting down at Mai's desk to compose the note.

After many failed attempts he ended up with :

_Dear Ty Lee, _

_Gather your family and read this note out loud to them._

_You all have the right to know that our daughter Mai has gone into exile with Zuko and that we are not to worry. Mai is a strong girl who is more than capable of taking care of herself despite what others may think. You must all realise however that you may never see Mai again though you will hear from her, she has assured us that she will write whenever possible to let us all know how things are going. She wishes you all happy lives. She has asked us to tell you not to tell the princess where she has gone but to tell her that Mai has gone to live with her Uncle at the Boiling Rock Prison and will not be returning under any circumstances._

_Mai was a wonderful girl and I am sure that she will not want any of you to suffer and she will want you to just get on with your lives as best you can._

_Wishing you all the best,_

_Mai's parents, _

_Haruko and Kagami._

Once the letter had been composed Kagami made her way down stirs still in anger. Haruko set the note aside to dry and went back to sit on his daughter's bed.

He had always had a fairly good relationship with Mai despite what people think and loosing her now had torn him apart so he dropped his head down onto the pillow where Mai use to put her head and thought about what had made her so unhappy, he wept for hours on end and did not move from her room for the rest of the day.

He walked around her room just looking at her things that she had left. He went through her wardrobe and felt the silk of her cloths, he looked through her bedside table and found a number of pieces of paper with writing on. He took them all out of the draw and sat on her bed. He spread the bits of paper out on the bed and then decided that he would read a few.

The first one read :

_June 3__rd_

_I hope all goes to planned in that damn agni kai, I still don't like that he has to fight his Father, I just know that it won't end well, something will go wrong and Zuko will get hurt I just know it. The damn thing isn't even worth it his Father may as well just burn him anyway then banish him for good measure, that's probably what will happen anyway._

_How did Mai know what would happen? How did she read things and people so well?_ Haruko asked himself. He decided that he would read some more of them to see if he could learn why she was so unhappy that she just uprooted herself and left.

The second one read :

_May 29th _

_I can't believe that he actually asked me out. Prince Zuko asked me out! It's like a dream come true, I had no idea that he liked me to. I mean he use to blush when he walked past or when he saw me but I never thought he would take it further than just a few stolen glances. But he did, he actually did, I never thought that he liked me back. I always liked him so when he asked me dream come true! I cant tell mother that we kissed though she would have a fit, his kisses are so soft and passionate and I love them about as much as I love him. _

_So she did like the boy... She LOVED the boy... How did I not realise this before now._ He thought to himself astounded that his daughter knew of love and what it felt like. He read just one more and it told him what he needed to know about her, it told him why she was miserable.

The last one read :

_May 15__th_

_She makes me miserable, I feel worthless in my own home. My Mother, if I should call her that now, should be the one to comfort me when I am hurt and she should be the one who makes me feel like I am wanted, she should encourage me and give me positive comments not negative all the time. All I ever get off her is " Oh for heavens sake Mai why did you have to go and do that at dinner today." Or " Oh Mai you had better be good today at tea there will be a young man there and I want you to try and attract his attention, Oh and Mai be a good girl and wear something light not black and make sure you wear a dress we want to impress the nice young man now don't we." Ugh I do not want to impress him heck I don't even want to meat him he sound just like the others, only interested in having heirs and becoming more powerful. It makes me miserable, I have been raised as the perfect little doll but I want to be able to express myself. Mother just doesn't get it though, she never will, I'm nothing like her, never have been never will be. She pays me no attention and in her eyes everything that I do should result in discipline, I hate it. My life feels like it isn't _

_worth living any more. She has made my life a misery and I just want it to stop altogether. I want nothing to do with her after I have moved out when I grow up. I plan to shut her out of my life completely when I get the chance. My life has only three bright spots and they are spending time with my Father, spending time with Ty Lee and spending time with Zuko._

That was all he needed to be convinced that Kagami was awful to his daughter. He would talk with her later . Haruko gathered the paper's back up and put then my back into the draw he fell asleep on her couch that night and for many nights after that.

A/N

Thanks to all my readers and thank you to those who review.

I went a little crazy with the quotes and letters but oh well I don't care.

I enjoyed writing this chapter and I had plenty of time to write it so I uploaded rather fast.

Thanks for reading.

Winterdevils.


	5. Chapter 5

Thank you to those who have reviewed and thank you for the support.

Chapter 5

_**Ty Lee's House**_

Ty Lee had just finished reading the letter out loud to her family and every one of them was speechless. Ty Lee just broke down and cried where she was stood, her mother and oldest sister rushed to her side and reassured her that it would all be fine and that there was still hope.

" But mother you heard what the letter said! I might never see her again! She was my best friend! Why did she have to go?" The distraught young girl screamed between sobs.

" Naomi*, Would you be a big help and take Ty Lee upstairs for me please." Umeko* asked her daughter politely while moving to attend to the younger children.

"all right mother I will, come on Ty lets go." Naomi replied while guiding Ty Lee to the stairs to go upstairs.

Ty Lee and Naomi made their way to the bedroom that they shared being the oldest two of the children in the house. Naomi at fifteen and Ty Lee at almost thirteen.

"Ty, it's all going to be all right, I promise. Mai will be fine, she's stronger than everyone gives her credit for." Naomi said to Ty Lee reassuringly though she wasn't really sure herself if Mai would be fine.

" I know she's strong Naomi, but... what if something happens? What if something goes wrong? SHE COULD DIE!" Ty Lee screamed distraught from the loss of her friend.

" If something were to happen... Agni forbid that it ever does, then we will all have to move on, but for now she is fine and has promised her parents that she would write, and if I know Mai she would never be able to live with herself knowing that you didn't know if she was alive or not." Naomi said still reassuring Ty Lee that her friend would be all right.

_**Zuko's boat, somewhere near a small Earth Kingdom village.**_

" Mai, dinner will be served at around seven each night though it may vary from time to time, depending on what we're all having." Iroh said to Mai politely while leaving the girl to finish the page in her book.

" Thank you General Iroh... Sorry I meant thank you Iroh." Mai said feeling embarrassed at forgetting that she didn't have to be so formal on the ship.

" It's no problem dear, it will take some time to get use to not having to be formal all the time, after all you was raised to be a perfect little lady and was subdued until you learnt how. I'll see you at dinner Mai." Iroh said while exiting the room. Mai put her book down on the side table and began sorting through her wash bag for her soaps and wash cloths. Once she had found them she pulled a decent sized bath towel from her cloths bag and went into the bathroom. She filled the bath with the warm, almost hot water, undressed and then climbed into the bath, soaking the warmth into her pale skin. She began the task of washing her hair, first wetting it then applying the soap and then rinsing it off then repeating the process once more before moving onto washing her body. After washing and then relaxing for what felt like such a short time but was actually about an hour, she climbed out of the bath and wrapped the dark red towel around her body. When she entered her room she found that Zuko was sat on her bed going through her make-up bag and then looking confused every time that he found some thing that he had never seen before.

Mai cleared her throat quietly but loud enough to get Zuko's attention. Zuko's breath hitched and he found that he was unable to speak. Mai looked down at the floor to try and hide the light blush that was spreading across her cheeks quite rapidly.

"Mai... I... I'm sorry I t-thought that you were just in the b-bathroom or something." Zuko said once he had regained the ability to speak.

"That's all right Zuko, but I will have to ask you to step outside while I get into something a little more presentable. You can come back in once I'm dressed." Mai said, rather amused that her boyfriend was all flustered and adorably pink.

" All right Mai, see you in a bit." Zuko said exiting the room and leaning on the wall next to the door.

Inside the room Mai picked out the burgundy trousers and matching long sleeved tunic along with clean bindings and underwear. Once she was dressed she unlocked the door and called fro Zuko to come back into the room. Once again his breath hitched at the way the tunic clung to her in all the right places and then flowed freely from her hips to half way down her upper leg.

" Mai, you... You look absolutely stunning." Zuko stammered

" Why thank you." Mai replied sweetly. She took her hairbrush out of her bag and sat down at her vanity and began to brush out her shiny black hair. Zuko was struggling to take his eye's off her.

" Mai, can I help?" Zuko asked nervously.

" With what Zuko?" Mai asked as she was a little confused and occupied with getting all the tangles out of her hair.

" With your hair. Can I help you to brush it?" He replied, still nervous.

" Oh, yeah, of course you can brush my hair." The knife thrower said in her usual monotone. She handed him the hairbrush and he started to run it through her hair, enjoying the feel of the wet locks in his hands. Every time he found a tangle in her hair he removed it gently trying his best not to hurt Mai. Once he had finished he handed the brush back to Mai who put her hair into a neat ponytail at the back of her head tying it with a red hair band to hold it in place.

" Well, we had best be going to the kitchens for dinner Mai." Zuko said, taking hold of her hand and guiding her out of the room. They walked hand in hand to the kitchens where they found that everyone was already sat at the table waiting for dinner to be served. Mai and Zuko sat down next to Iroh at the table and kept their hands under the table to avoid curious looks off the crew on board the small ship. The food was served and everyone made small talk over dinner which made Mai rather uncomfortable as she wasn't familiar with small talk over dinner due to growing up in a high class noble family.

_**Fire Nation Palace.**_

Azula was sat in one of the palace's many colourful gardens. The garden's were beautiful at that time of the year as they were just coming into bloom as it was early summer, late spring, at which point the heat was intense but not to warm.

"Well daughter, I see that your firebending is coming along as well as your teachers say. You have obviously been practising as much as I expect you to." Ozai said to his daughter who was just finishing a very complex set of moves.

" Thank you father, may I be excused please? I need a drink." Azula asked politely while bowing low to her father. Her breath hadn't even sped up once during the demonstration to her father, not one single hair out of place as always.

" Yes of course my dear you may go, I have a meeting soon anyway so I will have to leave you now." Ozai said, his proud slightly scary smile fading partially when mentioning leaving his daughter.

*Naomi means Honest, beautiful in japanese.*

A/N

O.K so this was a lot shorter than I intended it to be but I felt like I had to finish it there as it was taking way to long.

There will be some action in the next chapter which I can't wait to write as I love the action/fight scenes.

Thanks for reading, don't forget to review.

I just had to edit this as I forgot to put in the description for the *

winterdevils xx


	6. Chapter 6

OK now I know this one took a while to write but I didn't start it right away as I normally do.

Sorry about the wait and I hope you all enjoy this next chapter. It is set about a month after the last chapter as I won't be writing the full three year banishment, that would take way to long.

"Monday's child is fair of face, Tuesday's child is full of grace, Wednesday's child is full of woe, Thursday's child has far to go, Friday's child is loving and giving, Saturday's child works hard for a living, But a child born on the Sabbath day is fair, wise and good in every way" Mai recited from the book that Iroh had bought her a few days back at their last stop.

" Very good Mai, you can go and change now ready to practice your throwing. We'll try from memory tomorrow Mai so keep on practising the lines." Iroh said as Mai stood up to leave. Mai turned around to face Iroh and bowed politely and out of reflex.

" Um, Iroh, would you mind telling me, why did you want me to recite that, I've already finished school." Mai enquired slightly confused at why she just spent the last hour reciting lines from a book.

" No reason dear, I just think that it's best you keep yourself busy while we are on this ship. If you like I could teach you Pai Sho in a few weeks time." Iroh said to the girl,

" Oh, OK I would like that very much Iroh, now I'm going to go and get changed then find Zuko to practice our weapons skills." Mai said

" OK dear, I'll see you both soon." Iroh said as Mai turned to walk inside the ship.

Mai walked down the stirs and when to to corridor which led to her room. She entered her room and decided that Zuko could wait awhile so that she could get in the bath. She let the heat of the water soak into her limbs for over half hour before getting out. She wrapped the soft red towel around her slender frame and walked into her bedroom to find Zuko sat on the bed talking to Iroh who was sat on the chair next to the bed. Iroh looked up and over his shoulder when he saw that Zuko was no longer paying attention to him but to something behind him. He saw Mai and looked away immediately upon seeing she was in just a towel.

"Iroh, its fine, I'll just get my cloths from in here and get changed in the bathroom" Mai said while moving to get her cloths. She walked to her wardrobe and got the cloths that she wanted to wear out of it. Zuko was staring at Mai's legs which were only just covered my the towel. She could practically feel his gaze on her as she walked back to the bathroom with her cloths.

"Zuko, Zuko, ZUKO! Pay attention to me not the door."Iroh said, shouting to get his nephew's attention.

"Sorry uncle, it's just every time I see her she takes my breath away and in a towel, well, you don't need to know." Zuko said, still only giving Iroh half his attention, once he said the last few words he was instantly embarrassed as he just told his uncle what effect Mai had on him.

"Ah, Zuko, that shows your growing up and I was hoping that I wouldn't have to give this talk for another few months yet but it seems like I am delayed already." Iroh said, remembering the time that he had to talk about it with his son.

" No, no, you don't need to have the talk with me, I already know, don't even think about talking to me about that uncle. I won't hear it, I won't listen." Zuko said in desperation, he really did not want to be spoken to about his love life.

"What are you two talking about actually what are you two shouting about?" Mai asked as she walked out of the bathroom fully dressed this time in clean cloths.

"He wants to give us the talk Mai!" Zuko said looking panicked. Mai's face dropped and she looked a little horrified at the thought.

" Sorry Iroh but we will have to talk later, we need to practice, come on Zuko, let's go." Mai said while grabbing Zuko's hand and practically dragging him out of the door into the hall. Once in the hall they began to run, they continued running until they reached the steps that led to outside.

The pair climbed up the steps and went outside into the fresh sea air. They began by training with their swords and knifes. Zuko swinging his swords in a large arc above his head to stretch his limbs and to get use to the feel of the swords in his hands.

Mai threw knife after knife at the wall of the ship that she practised on until they got some proper targets for her to throw at. They battled together for a while afterwards running round the deck of the ship Zuko swinging his swords at Mai and Mai pinning Zuko to a lot of walls so that she could get ahead. They jumped over crates of various things on their way around Zuko tripping over a few of them occasionally while Mai just jumped nimbly over them all. They eventually stopped when Mai decided that it was enough for the day and she just pinned both his arms and legs to the floor so that he admitted defeat.

"How do you do that, you know haw do you manage to jump over the boxes land and then still not make a sound." Zuko asked, accepting Mai's offer to help him up. They walked back inside and down to Mai's room only to find Iroh still sitting there.

"Oh, hello dear, I hope you don't mind my being here, I just wanted to relax and then talk to you both when you came back from training. You should get that talk you know but since you are both so insistent that you don't get it I won't talk about it, all I'm going to say is be careful and don't rush into things." Iroh said while walking out of the room.

"Ugg, didn't want anything said on the matter, oh and how do you manage to be so silent when landing?" Zuko said as he flopped onto the bed with a soft thud.

"Years of practice and a natural light foot." Mai answered, the answer was only vague but he was satisfied anyway.

"So, you hungry?" Zuko asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Yeah I am a bit, we can go down to the kitchen in a sec just let me get changed first."Mai replied while pulling some clean clothes out of her wardrobe.

"I'll bring these down with me so that they can get washed."Mai explained as she re-entered the room after getting changed in the bathroom. The pair walked down the halls for a few minutes, Mai stopping at the wash room to drop off her clothes, they reached the kitchen. They both had a light snack to fill the hole in which was hunger and walked back to the room that they came from.

The next morning the pair awoke to find that they would be reaching some docks within the hour so they both rushed to get ready on time so that they could get off the ship and onto some solid ground. They all walked together down to the small village and then went off in their own directions. Iroh towards the nearest tea store, the crew towards the general stores and Mai along with Zuko towards the closest weapon store and clothes store. They walked into the clothes store first which was mainly made up of greens and yellows of various shades.

"Er, Mai, would you mind telling me what we're doing in an earth kingdom clothes store." Zuko asked while searching through the clothes for something he liked and would fit.

"Well we hardly fit in while wearing black all the time do we so we need to get some earth kingdom clothes so that we blend in properly." Mai explained to him while looking through the clothes herself.

They searched for about an hour, through the clothes, picking up a few different outfits then going to pay the cashier. They walked out of the store and went to the nearest public bathroom they could find so that they could go and change into some more appropriate clothing.

About five minutes later they found the bathroom and went inside to change. Once changed they met back outside in appropriate clothing for the nation that they were currently in. Mai was clothed in a pale green dress which had a darker green and light pink floral design going down one side with cream coloured trim on all of the edges. Zuko was dressed in a darker green tunic and pants which had pale green trim on the tunic edges and was tied off with a pale green sash around the waist.

"You look wonderful Mai, green actually suits you believe it or not, though it is a little strange wearing it for the fist time isn't it." Zuko said while looking Mai up and down as if inspecting her clothing.

"As do you my dear, thanks on the green suiting me thing, it looks great on you too, as if you were always meant to be forced to wear it." Mai replied while linking arms with him and heading back towards the ship. They got about half way back to the ship when they heard a lot of shouting coming from the next street, they didn't recognise the voices but they were sure that it would either mean trouble for them or for the village so they would just have to help the village people as they were both fighters and had their weapons with them at the time.

They walked a little further down the street that they were already on until they came to an alleyway that led to the next street. They followed it down until the could see what was going on in the next street. They stopped at the back of the crowd and they couldn't really see what it was that was going on in the middle of the huge crowd that had gathered in the square. After working their way gradually to the front of the crowd they were astonished to see what they did, two earth kingdom men were in the middle of a full blown fist fight in the middle of the street where everyone could see them. One man lay on the floor to the side, presumably unconscious after being in the fight. They stood and watched as the intensity of the fight grew along with the size of the constantly growing fight, they both presumed that this was not of regular occurrence and that these two men were both of some importance to the village, therefore meaning it would be devastating should one lose their lives that day.

"We, have to help them!" Zuko pleaded

"No, not yet, we need to wait for a bit to see what happens."Mai, said quietly to him

"Fine but only for a few minutes at the most." Zuko said back to her

"Deal, now watch." Mai ordered, turning to watch the street fight herself.

The pair watched for about five minutes more as the intensity grew and more punches were thrown, Mai was the first one to act and Zuko followed in a second later when her realised that she had a knife ready in her hand. She threw without any warning and hit one of the men in the lower leg, he turned around to look for who it was that had throw the weapon and saw two people running through the crowd so he chased after them, the other fighter followed a bit behind.

The pair rounded the corner and went onto the next street where they had came from in the first place, the stopped in a square near the middle of the street and they took fighting stances, Mai with her knifes and Zuko with his swords. The crowd had followed, wanting to see what would happen in this fight between two fully grown men and two children.

One of the men swung for Mai's legs with his hand in an attempt to trip her up, which failed as she just jumped lightly and ran one way while Zuko ran the other, they both took on a different opponent, the fight Mai was in consisted mainly of running and Mai dodging poorly made attacks. Zuko's fight consisted mostly of Zuko chasing his opponent and swinging his swords aimed at the man's feet.

Knife after knife was thrown at the man, Mai was facing, he turned around eventually and took a swing at Mai with a knife of hers that he had pulled out of his arm. He somehow managed to cut Mai across the top of her arm, luckily it wasn't deep and was only mildly painful.

"OK that's it, hope your ready yo be beaten by a girl." Mai said while throwing four darts at her opponent, pinning him to the wall of a house on the edge of the street. Zuko was just finishing off his opponent too when Mai looked round to see how he was coping without her. Once the villagers were dealing with the two fighters Mai remembered about the man that was unconscious in the other fight. She ran immediately to the other street to where the man was still on the floor. She took his wrist in her hand and felt for a pulse, some of the villagers had gathered around to see what she was doing with the man and as she felt for a pulse they all held their breath and hoped for the best. Mai breathed a sigh of relief when she felt his pulse in his wrist and she instructed two men to take him to the doctor's house to be checked over fully to make sure that he was definitely all right.

"We saw that you ran out of weapons while you were fighting so we all decided that we would give you some new weapons and that we would provide you with some ostrich horses for travelling over land." A young girl said while handing Mai the weapons she offered.

"Oh, why thank you young lady, we were more than happy to help out here today." Mai said calmly to the young girl who must have been no older than six.

"What's your name Hunny, I'm called Mai."Mai said sweetly to the little girl.

"I'm Reiko*" The little girl said.

Reiko looked up at Mai with huge tear filled eyes, the tears making her green eyes glisten in the light.

"Oh, Hunny what wrong."Mai asked while dropping to her knee's to pull her into warm embrace,

"you saved my Daddy, that man that wouldn't wake up, he's my Daddy and you saved him, thanks you." Reiko said though her tears while wrapping her arms around Mai once again.

"Hunny, he was your Daddy, well, he's going to be all right, he'll be better soon darling don't you worry. I'm going to be here with my friend for a few days yet so you can talk to me if you want." Mai said to Reiko. Reiko took hold of Mai's hand in her own and the walked over to Zuko, as Mai hugged him she whispered to him "Tell Iroh that we're staying for three days would you, I don't want to leave this little girl on her own."

Zuko ran off to find Iroh, while Mai walked with Reiko to her house. It was about a ten minute walk to her house which was more like an estate really, this little girl was obviously of noble up bringing.

"So this is you home."Mai said, remembering what her own house had been like.

"Yes, it is, where do you live, I haven't seen you before around here."Reiko said looking up at Mai and dragging her through the gate that led into the gardens.

"I come from far away dear, I use to live in a big house like you do but I live on a ship with that other boy and his uncle now." Mai replied sweetly.

"Nice, how come you don't live there now then?" Reiko asked while opening the door to her house to let them both in.

"I wanted to go away from there as my parents weren't very nice to me, I'll have a baby brother soon and that would take all the attention off me, I wanted to go with that other boy as well." Mai replied looking around the home while being dragged upstairs to Reiko's bedroom. They entered the room and Reiko jumped up onto her bed while Mai sat on the chair next to the bed.

"Why did you want to go with him Mai?" Reiko enquired while looking at Mai with her large green eyes.

"Well Hunny, it's a little hard to explain really, he had to leave the village we came from because he did something wrong and I was just getting to know him better thanks to his little sister and I didn't want it to end, so I decided that I would go with him to keep him company, and to save him from his uncle's lectures." Mai said to her.

"Anyway, you, what's with all the questions all of a sudden." Mai asked after a short pause in the conversation, Reiko just shrugged and looked down at her nails.

"We should go and find him Mai, he doesn't know where we are and it's been a while since he left." Reiko said jumping up off the bed and taking hold of Mai's hand again as they went out the door.

The pair walked back to the village square in silence where they found Iroh drinking tea in one of the shops and Zuko looking around a bit puzzled. When he saw Mai he ran straight over almost tripping over his feet on the way. He pulled Mai into a crushing hug but Mai pushed him away gesturing to Reiko.

"Hi" Was all Reiko could say to Zuko, not knowing what his name was and everything. They all walked to the shop that Iroh sat at and went to get tea with him, Reiko asked if she could use the bathroom so she went and the remaining three people talked quietly amongst themselves.

"Mai, have you told her our real names, or any names for that matter?" Zuko asked leaning into the middle of the table along with Iroh and Mai.

"No to Reiko you just the boy I live with and your that other guy. She knows my name but that's fine as my name is commonly used everywhere." Mai replied looking between the two men.

"Right then, we need new names nephew, any idea's Mai?" Iroh asked looking directly at Mai.

"Yeah a few, Zuko you could be re-named Tetsuo** and Iroh, you could be...Kazuo*** yes I think those names would fit quite well if you ask me." Mai said, she had to think for a few seconds to come up with a name for Iroh but she got there in the end.

"I think those would work, right so does everyone know your new name, uncle do you know yours, I know mine and Mai yours is just normal right?" Zuko asked looking around for the little girl.

"Yeah" They bother replied at the same time as Reiko was just coming out of the bathroom.

"So, what's everyone ordering?" Mai asked politely once Reiko had sat back down at the table

"Shall we all just get a pot of the jasmine to share?" Iroh asked, sitting up in his seat again.

"Wonderful idea Kazuo, I'll go and order." Mai said using his new name instead of his real one.

About half an hour later they left the tea shop and walked back to Reiko's house where they would be staying for the night.

Reiko ran up the steps to her home to open the door for the three people, her brown ponytail bobbing up and down behind her as she ran.

A few minutes later they were all in the house and getting the sleeping arrangements sorted out.

"Okay, well I want to be in the same room as Mai, I don't care what people think, nothing will happen." Zuko said, he was fully prepared to refuse sleeping in a separate room to Mai if he had to.

"Fine, fine, but no funny business in there. You two can have the room in the left corridor, the second room on your right, and Mr Kazuo you can sleep in the one across from them." The housekeeper said to them, handing all three of them a key to their bedrooms.

"Thanks you very much young lady." Iroh said to the housekeeper before waving, flashing a cheeky grin and turning to walk up to his room.

"Uncle, I'm going to pretend I didn't just see the look you gave her." Zuko said while reaching across to entwine his fingers with Mai's.

"Please nephew, I don't know what your talking about." Iroh laughed merrily while walking to his room. He unlocked his door and said good night to the two young people, entered his room, changed and then promptly fell into a deep sleep.

In Mai and Zuko's room they had changed already. Mai was sat on the bed reading her favourite book while Zuko was combing her hair for her, he enjoyed the feel of the midnight tresses slipping through his fingers as he brushed through them with the ornate comb. Mai closed her book and turned around to face Zuko while taking the comb off him and placing it carefully on the side table.

When she turned back Zuko kissed her lightly on the lips for a few seconds before pushing her down onto the pillows gently and kissing her again. Mai kissed back as if out of reflex.

When the door opened to reveal Reiko stood there neither of them noticed. Reiko just stood there in her nightgown and watched what the two older children were doing. Mai rearranged herself under Zuko so that she was more comfortable and her legs weren't bent in an awkward position. Zuko kissed her roughly again and Mai kissed back, they still didn't notice Reiko standing there at the door.

Iroh walked out of his room to see Reiko standing there at the door looking a little curious. Iroh placed his hand on the little girls shoulder and she just shrugged her shoulders and pointed to the two on the bed who had by now removed their outer clothing leaving them in only undergarments. Iroh looked at what she was gesturing towards and was speechless for a few seconds after seeing what he did, he felt like sudden realisation had just come upon him and now he would be having nightmares about this moment for days to come.

"I'm sorry to bother you but I think you have a visitor" Iroh said loudly to get the pairs attention. Mai threw Zuko off her and pulled her discarded robe around her to cover herself up. The pair were both so embarrassed about being seen kissing how they were by Iroh and Reiko.

"Sorry uncle, we didn't know she was there." Zuko apologised while tying his robe back around himself.

"No worries nephew, just make sure that doesn't go any further than it just did, I think that was far enough considering your age you two, your only teenagers after all and after seeing what she did I think little Reiko could possibly be scarred for life after tonight." Iroh chuckled as he walked down the stairs to the kitchen.

"Anyway, what is it Reiko?" Mai asked sitting back down on the bed after slipping back into her nightgown.

"I had a nightmare and I was wondering, can I sleep in here with you two tonight?" Reiko asked quietly, rubbing her tired eyes.

"Um, yeah, of course you can Hunny, come on, you can sleep in between me and Tetsuo if you like."Mai said to her, picking her up easily and carrying the five year old over to the bed.

"Thanks Mai." Reiko replied sleepily almost falling asleep in Mai's arms.

Mai put Reiko down on the bed after getting Zuko to roll the bed sheets back for her. Once Reiko was completely asleep on the bed Mai and Zuko crawled in on either side of her. They were all asleep within minutes of laying down on the bed. They slept soundly that night and Reiko didn't have nightmares that night after seeing what she saw.

*Reiko means Lovely child in Japanese.

** Tetsuo means wise man or wise hero in Japanese.

*** Kazuo means Harmonious man or first male in Japanese.

A/N

Thanks to those who review this piece and remember the review button will not explode or inflict pain with you click it. Anyway, sorry I took a while to upload this chapter but I have been rather busy and it hasn't left me much time to write lately, thanks to some fortunate spare time today I managed to get this chapter finished and get started with my next one.


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry about the late update, I've been having a little bit of trouble getting going with my writing, and I've been rather busy lately. BUT, I'm currently a little ill so I have time to write due to my absence at school.**

This is my life, Chapter 7

It was a few months after the stop at the village where the fight had taken place and everyone was still doing fine on board the ship, though Zuko's temper had not lessened any. Zuko, Iroh and Mai were currently sat on the deck eating their breakfast as the sun was rising, the early morning sun setting a calming glow to everything around them and the sun just barely visible. The air was still quite cold due to the early hour and there was still an early morning breeze which was rather cold.

Mai wrapped her cloak tighter around herself as the wind blew against her, sending shivers through her body and also making Zuko worry about her just in case she because ill.

"I'm fine Zuko, just a little bit cold" Mai said, sensing the young man's concern for her well being.

"Yeah, okay, just tell me if you get to cold." Zuko said, his worry clear in the way he spoke.

"Yes, I will" Mai said back, rolling her eyes.

Once breakfast was over with, the group went back below deck to get ready for the day. Once in his own room Zuko decided to take a quick bath, he sat in the hot water for almost an hour letting the heat of the water envelope him and calm him considerably. Once finished with his bath he went back above deck to see if anyone was out there, much to his delight Mai was sat out there enjoying a cup of tea with Iroh. Considering the fact that Mai was once extremely quiet around everyone she was quite comfortable to just sit and talk with Iroh now.

"So, Mai, how are you finding this little trip so far, nothing to difficult I hope." Iroh asked, beaming due to his constant good mood.

"Well, it's different, though that's not exactly a bad thing, I rather enjoy being here on the ship with you all... It's much simpler than living with my parents." Mai said, stopping part way to sip at her tea.

"Good, good, anyway, we will be stopping at another port in just a few days so make sure you get everything you need for a few weeks while we are there, don't want you running short on anything now do we, especially not with you being female after all, there is always that time of the month you need to be fully prepared for." Iroh said winking at the young girl.

"Seriously Iroh, don't go there, just don't even start that conversation, I don't need to hear it again, my mother has already been through it all a few times in the past, I'm afraid that if I hear it again I'm going to scream." She replied laughing slightly at the end of her sentence.

"Don't worry, I won't go into it if you've heard it all before." Iroh chuckled, then continued with "Anyway my dear, I have been meaning to ask you this for a while now, how many children do you want when you get older?" Iroh said with a smile, not really taking any notice of the shocked look that crossed Mai's features.

"What!, that was...unexpected, I suppose I want three but why on earth do you need to know how many children I desire when I'm older, that's far off in the future Iroh and you know it is." Mai said, calmly trying not to let on the fact that she was shocked.

"Ha, ha, I know it is dear, I just wanted to see if you would answer, and I'm sure Zuko would just love to know, after all, he is stood right behind you." Iroh said to her, still beaming at her. Mai quickly looked behind her to see if he was just lying but there was Zuko, as he said, stood right behind her, looking a little bit shocked over what she had said.

"Um, well, this is awkward isn't it. Um, I think I'm going to go and see what I need for when we get to the village." Mai said, a little bit flustered that Zuko had just heard what she said. She rushed back below deck and didn't come out for the rest of the night, she eventually came out the next morning and went above deck to find that it was raining heavily. So she decided to turn around and go back below. The day she had was an average one, as the day wore on the weather became progressively worse, the later in the day it got, the harder and faster the rain fell, the rain beating down on the metal ship relaxing everyone on board the ship, by time the sun had set for the night there was a full on thunderstorm.

"Mai, are you okay, are you scared?" Zuko asked, he assumed that Mai was scared of the storm because she walked out of the room the were in and down the hall.

"I love thunderstorms, especially if there is lightening with them as well, I'm going near the door to go and watch." Mai stated calmly as she began climbing the steps that led to the door. She opened the door and sat down just inside of it, she watched as lightening flashed across the darkened sky, giving everything an eerie blue glow for a second before going dark again. She listened as each clap of thunder sounded in the night adding to the noise the rain made as it pounded heavily on the metal deck of the ship she was on board. Each clap of thunder and flash of lightening sending a jolt of excitement down Mai's spine, she truly felt alive during a thunderstorm, like firebenders felt alive during a comet and waterbenders felt alive during the night, she felt more natural and free during storms, where the ink black sky was being lit up by the bolts of blue lightening flashing across the sky and the loud, rumbling thunder sounded through the dead of the night. It amazed her how a light rain can turn into something so spectacular.

Ty Lee's house, Fire Nation Capital. 

" How was school Ty Lee, anything exciting happen?" Umeko asked.

"Nothing really mother, just the usual learning and talking with Princess Azula." Ty Lee answered after finishing her mouthful of food that she was eating.

"Why does that not surprise me." Naomi said, rolling her eyes at Ty Lee's reply. The group of people were sat eating dinner in the dining room of their large house.

Later that night, Ty Lee and Naomi were sat in there small bedroom talking about the usual things, clothes, make-up, the things that girls usually talk about.

"So Ty, you still miss Mai?" Naomi questioned, she knew that it was a sensitive spot for her younger sibling.

"Yeah, Naomi, I do, but I'm use to her not being around now, I still miss her though, I pray to Agni that she's all right." Ty lee said back, looking down at her hands which were rested in her hands as she sat on her bed.

"She'll be fine Ty, I just know she will." _I hope_ she said, the last part just in her head so not to upset her sister.

Fire Nation Palace 

"Daughter, you will be leaving school in a few weeks am I correct?" Ozai said to his daughter as they walked through the palace gardens.

"yes father, you are correct, I am almost done with school." Azula replied, a shine in her eyes because of the fact her father had remembered. Her father had been a slight bit more distant lately. She wondered what had happened to make her father more reserved.

That night Azula was sat in her room, writing in a journal which she had recently begun writing each night.

_Dear Diary,_

_well, I'm beginning to think that I need another friend, now that Mai has ditched me Ty Lee has become almost unbearable, despite her friend being missing she is still far to bouncy for my liking._

_I also think that something is going on with Father, he has seemed more distant and reserved towards me lately, we haven't spoken nearly as much as we use to years ago, or even a few months ago, I'm beginning to worry about him, no, I'm not worrying, that's not me at all, I'm just over reacting that's all, nothing to worry about...I hope._

_That's all for tonight, write again tomorrow, _

_Princess Azula. _

As she wrote in her journal she annoyed herself greatly because of her worry about her father, it was certainly not something expected of her and was definitely not something desired among royalty.

**A/N**

**I'm so, so sorry that this is so short, I just couldn't think of anything more to write. Sorry about the wait as well, I was suppose to upload quicker but my mind was refuseing to let that happen. **

**Anyway, thanks to those who read and review, hope you enjoy.**

**winterdevils xx**


	8. Chapter 8

So sorry about the late, well, the very late update, but I've been finding it difficult to stay motivated lately, but, I sat down and wrote for a few good hours to get something done at least. Hope you enjoy this next chapter.

This Is My Life

Chapter 8

Half a year later and the group was still traveling the world in hope that they would one day find the Avatar, still hoping that one day they will be able to return home, but they were no longer thinking about that any more. The group of people had figured that they might as well just take everyday as it comes and just look forward to whatever gets thrown their way.

The group were sat below deck in the kitchens enjoying a simple meal of boiled rice and steamed fish, though simple, they were all enjoying the meal and the talk which accompanied it.

"So, where are we going to next captain? Where shall we be stopping to get supplies? I have noticed that we are running dangerously low on a few things." Iroh said, before taking a sip of the tea which he had just brewed a few minutes ago.

"Well Iroh, I do believe that we will be docking about twenty miles west of here, in less than a days time." The captain replied.

"Excellent! Where will you young people be going to when we land, I know you both need some things of your own but I'm sure that you will want to have some fun around town, just promise me, that you won't get into any fights this time." Iroh said looking at Mai and Zuko.

"Okay, we won't." they both said in unison.

The next day, the group of people left the ship and went in search of the things that they needed from the small village that they had come across. Iroh went off in one direction, Mai and Zuko in another and the crew in another direction.

Iroh went towards a shop which sold tea first, as to be expected from the tea lover.

Mai went towards a pharmacy/herb shop of sorts to pick up her things, while Zuko walked a little further down the street to get them some more clothes. They met up later in a small café down a small street to eat dinner.

After dinner the group continued to walk around for a few more hours before going back onto the ship and setting off again.

A day later they were back in open waters and on their way to yet another village. That night while sat on the deck drinking tea with Iroh, Mai, Zuko and all the crew seemed to be a little bit distracted. Just as the sun started to go down for the night and the moon began to show everyone went back below.

"Surprise!" screamed Zuko, Mai and the crew who were standing outside of Iroh's bedroom door holding presents and a birthday cake.

"Well, quite a surprise this is indeed." Iroh said, beaming.

"Happy birthday Uncle." Zuko said, hugging the retired general and handing him the package.

"Harry birthday Iroh." Mai said, smiling slightly before handing him the item she was holding. Iroh smiled happily, tears of joy flooding his eyes and spilling down his face. He pulled both young people into a tight embrace.

"Um, uncle, I think we need to breathe to live!" Zuko said to his uncle while still in the crushing embrace.

"Yes, sorry." Iroh apologised before allowing them to enter his room.

When in there the three people sat down on the cold, hard, metal floor of the ship while Iroh opened the packages. Mai's contained two books on poetry and Zuko's contained a new calligraphy set.

"How in the world did you get the money together to buy all of this you two?" Iroh asked, looking pleased with his gifts.

"Well, just saving up the change we had from shopping really, nothing special, just saving up." Zuko replied, putting his arm around Mai's shoulders and leaning back against the cold wall.

"Well, thank you, you didn't have to do this, but thank you anyway." Iroh said pulling the two young people into another embrace.

**In the Fire Nation**

Back in the fire nation, at Mai's parents house, which was, at one point, Mai's house also, Haruko was holding his new born, baby boy, which he and his wife had named Tom-Tom.

"Mai would of loved this moment." Haruko said, sadly, looking down at his child and seeing how much he looked like Mai did as an infant.

"Will you get over that already man, she's been gone for a while and she is out of our lives forever now, lets focus on our son, he is our only hope." Kagami said, in anger. "But yes, she would of loved this, and I miss her too." she continued.

"I know it's been a while dear but it's basically losing a child, except she chose to leave herself." Haruko said "However, you are right, we need to focus on our son now." He continued.

**Fire Nation Palace**

Azula was sat in her bedroom, with Ty lee who was staying over for the night.

"Azula, who are we going to get to replace Mai, if anyone." Ty lee asked innocently.

"I'm not too sure yet Ty lee, but I shall find someone soon. Believe me, I will find someone." Azula said, a cold twinkle in her eyes.

" Good, I can't wait!" Ty lee said, enthusiastically.

**Ty lee's house**

"Ren*, Ren, come over here and help your sister with her homework will you while I go change Kira**" Umeko shouted to her child, who was just two years younger than Ty lee.

"Yes mother!" Ren said, running through from the sitting room into the study.

"Thank you Ren." Umeko said as she began to climb the stairs to go change her youngest daughter Kira, who was just two months old.

"Ren, where's Ty?" Kei*** asked her sister.

"She's at Princess Azula's place Kei, now get on with your homework." Ren said to her sister as she sat down beside her.

"Okay Ren." Kei said, sweetly, they 10 year old getting back on with her work immediately.

In the bedroom Umeko was changing Kira's clothes to put her to bed while she was talking to Naomi.

"So, Mother, how long has it been since Mai left, Ty still seems really down about it." Naomi asked her Mother, taking the clothes off her mother.

"It's been just over ten months Naomi, but what do you expect, her best friend is travelling the world, getting into trouble everywhere she goes and Ty lee doesn't even know if Mai is still alive, she hasn't wrote to her yet, I just hope Mai won't leave it too long before she writes to us, I hope she's okay, not just for her parents sake, but for Ty lee's also." Umeko replied, continuing to change her baby's clothes.

*Ren means 'Water lily' in Japanese.

**Kira means 'Dark' in Japanese

***Kei means 'Joyful' in Japanese

**A/N**

**Again, sorry for the late update, don't forget to review.**

**It was good to check in with the rest of them wasn't it, felt it was about time to do that. **

**I'm sorry it's so short, it would have been longer, but I felt it was time to end that chapter.**


	9. Chapter 9

Mai was sat above deck with Iroh while Zuko was sulking in his bedroom below deck.

"So, Mai, I see that my nephew is still in a bad mood, any idea why?" Iroh asked, sipping at his tea gently, before deciding that it was still too hot to drink straight away.

"I have honestly no idea why he is in such a bad mood, neither of us have done anything what I know of..." Mai replied to him, not bothering to finish her sentence.

"Hmm, it might have something to do with the fact we have been away from the fire nation for exactly a year today, he must still be a bit homesick." Iroh said to the your lady in front of him.

"Most likely yes." Mai replied, nodding slightly while she said it.

Meanwhile, Zuko was below deck, practising with with his swords, swinging them in graceful arcs above his head and around his body. The swords seemed to fit perfectly in his hands, the weight comforting him in a way. They weren't that heavy or at least, he didn't think so. Zuko stopped for a few minutes to take a rest and to catch his breath when he heard two people talking in the corridor, the young prince decided to go outside to see who it was.

When he got outside of the room, no one was there, he followed the hall down until he reached the kitchens and saw Mai sat there with Iroh.

"Ah, Prince Zuko, we were just about to come and get you for lunch, would you like to join us?" Iroh asked politely.

"I'm not hungry" Zuko said, just loud enough so that Iroh and Mai could here.

He got about half way back to his room before Mai ran after him, she wanted to talk.

"Zuko, what's wrong, you've been in a foul mood for the past few days and it's getting both Iroh and me worried" Mai asked, putting one hand on his arm.

"Nothing is wrong, why does everyone think that something is wrong with me!" Zuko shouted at her.

"Zuko, lower your voice, people only think something is wrong because for three days now all you have done is shout at people when they talk to you, you've eaten barely anything and you haven't come out of your room except to use the bathroom and get a drink from the kitchens." Mai explained "Now would you kindly tell me what it is that has been bothering you"

"Fine, come on, I don't want everyone to hear."

The pair walked back to his bedroom and Mai closed the door behind them, being sure to lock it so that they could not be disturbed as easily.

"Right, explain." Mai demanded.

"Well, it's been a year since we left, neither of us have sent a letter, your parents must be worried sick and I don't want to be on this ship any more" He explained, as calmly and as fast as he could.

"I see, well, don' worry, when we get to the docks tomorrow, we can write letters and send them off, okay?" Mai asked, softly.

"Okay." he replied.

"Now, lets go get something to eat" She said.

The pair walked back to the kitchen, hand in hand.

The next morning, the ship docked in a small village that was still owned by the earth kingdom, it was rare to find such a place now. Iroh, Zuko and Mai stepped off the ship into the village and headed their separate ways as normal.

Zuko and Mai walked first to a place where they could send letters off to family and friends from.

"Excuse me, may we send some letters off please, but we need to write them first." The raven haired girl said to the man behind the counter.

"Of course, there is a few desks in the room behind here where you can write your letters before sending them off." Said the friendly old man, the man looked carefully at Mai and Zuko, not knowing exactly who they were but realising that they were not from around that area due to the colour of their eyes and how pale their skin tone was. Zuko thanked the man and walked with Mai to the other room where they would write their letters.

Mai wrote first to her Parents then to Ty Lee.

The letter to her parents said:

_Dear Mother and Father, _

_I miss you greatly, but I know that I can't came back now. I am currently in a small earth kingdom village with Prince Zuko but we shall be leaving soon. I only wrote to inform you that I am well, I am still studying in my spare time and I believe that I have proven something by me going with Zuko, I've proven to you that I can make my own decisions. _

_I know that my leaving must have been a great shock to you and I'm very sorry, but I had to go, without Prince Zuko, I had nothing to stay in the Fire Nation for, without him, I'm nothing and even though I miss you, I do not regret leaving with him, I'm happy with him and I don't care what anyone thinks of me now, I can be called a traitor for all I care, as long as I'm with Zuko, I'm happy. _

_Hope things are well with you all, hope things are going great with the new child._

_Love you lots,_

_Mai._

The letter to Ty Lee said:

_Dear Ty Lee, _

_Hi Ty, I realise that I haven't written in a while, sorry about that, I've been a bit busy, well, kind of, not really had much time to write, it's literally been a case of on a boat for a while, then off it for a day or two in a village gathering the things we needed. I realise that you can't write back as we never know where we are going to be next, if we ever stop in one place for a while, I'll send you a letter to tell you where I am, so long as you don't tell anyone, not even Azula._

_Things have been going great lately, but Zuko was in a really bad mood for about three days, but it's all okay now. He was just feeling homesick because we've been away for just over a year now. _

_We're in a village at the moment, on the coast of the earth kingdom somewhere, I'm not quite sure where to be honest. _

_I miss you Ty, I really do, it seems like forever ago that I last saw you. But I suppose it's my own fault really, I chose to go with Zuko, and I don't regret it either. _

_Hope you're well. _

_Mai._

Mai finished composing the letters so that the ink could dry for a few minutes while waiting for Zuko to finish doing his letter, Mai wasn't sure who he was writing to, but so long as he knew, that was fine.

Five minutes later, the pair walked back to the front of the shop they were in to send the letters off.

"Ah, so you've finished then?" The store keeper asked.

"Yes, we have, could we send them off now please?" Mai asked innocently.

"Of course, hand them here, where am I sending them too exactly?" the man asked.

The two people gave him the addresses that the letters where to be sent to then walked out of the store to go and meet Iroh in the town square.

"Did you two get what you wanted?" Iroh asked them quietly

"Yes, we did, and we sent off some letters to a few people." Mai answered, looking up at Iroh through her thick black eyelashes.

"Oh did you now, well, that is good, at least people won't worry as much" Iroh commented, then the three people walked towards an inn where they would stay that night,

"Hello, you looking for a place to stay?" The man behind the desk said to them.

" Why, yes we are, thank you." Iroh replied to the man.

"Ah, okay, well, we have a few rooms left, so, you may have those, we've been pretty popular lately since the inn across the way closed down.

"Oh, well, good for you, not for them, but, good for you, I'm guessing you're always busy now." Iroh said, as the man led the three to their rooms.

"Yes, that we are, been this way for just over a week now" The man unlocked the door to one of the rooms and gave Iroh the key then bid him goodnight, then unlocked another room and gave the key to Mai for her and Zuko.

"Now, don't you two young people get up to anything okay" The man said cheekily.

"Don't worry, we won't" Mai said "Goodnight sir" she continued, closing the door and locking it again.

The three people slept soundly in the inn that night and they enjoyed the next day in the town, they did a little more shopping, then headed back to the boat.

**Fire Nation**

In the Fire nation a few days later, the letter had arrived at Ty Lee's house.

"Open it Ty, go on" Umeko said to her daughter.

The young acrobat opened the letter that she had received and read it out loud to her family.

"Well, at least she's well, at least she's not dead..." Umeko sighed, both relived, and even more on edge, Mai was alive, but would anything happen to change that fact? She did not know.

"Yes, she is alive, but I'll still be worried about her no matter what, I just hope that she won't leave it so long before writing again." Ty lee replied. "Anyway, goodnight Mother" she continued.

"Goodnight Ty"

**Mai's Parents house**

"She's still alive! She's still alive!" Haruko said as he danced around the sitting room like a delighted young child after receiving a letter of praise.

"Yes, she may be alive, but as long as that little girl is alive, she brings some shame onto our little family!" Kagami stated, she has been in a foul mood all day and Haruko was getting rather sick of it.

"Kagami, Mai is out daughter and you should be happy that she is alive at least, she might come back one day Kagami and you know that!" Haruko shouted.

"Alive she might be, but, for all we know, she might not stay that way for long" Kagami figured. Haruko stormed out of the room, not wanting to face the fact that his wife was right, his daughter may not be alive much longer, but there is always that small hope that she will survive, that she will come home one day and won't ever leave them again.

**Fire Nation Palace**

It was quite in the fire nation palace that night, but, it was quiet every night now. Azula was sat in her bedroom on her own and she was thinking about everything. Eventually, she decided that enough was enough, she decided to write down what she was thinking.

_What's going on with me? What's going on with everything? Everything is changing and I hate it! Why do things have to change! Mai is still gone, and for some reason, I miss her, a lot, I don't think she's going to come back, not if she is with my stupid older brother. _

_Does my father really love me, or is he just using me for his games because of my talent? Did he ever really care? Who knows?_

Azula balled up the paper and threw it across the room in rage, in anger at herself, at her father, at everyone.

"What happening to me!" She shouted at no one, there was no one with her to shout at.

**A/N**

**Well, hope you enjoyed, sorry it took a while, but, it's up now so that's good right?**


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